As established by various studies, it is recognized that cholesterol and triglycerides play a major role in the formation of artherosclerotic plaques by accelerating the deposition of blood lipids in the arterial wall.
Arylthio-alkanoic acids and various derivatives thereof have been reported as having hypolipidemic activity in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,652,646; 3,369,025; and 3,707,549. Other hypolipidemic agents and compounds intended for use in the treatment of heart disease which have a structure less closely related to the compounds of the present invention are reported in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,843,662 and 3,855,285; CA82:43070h (German Offen. No. 2,316,914); Belgian Pat. No. 815,703; Japanese Pat. Nos. 7,333,742 and 7,333,743; and CA80:133072y and 133073z.
Other references of interest are U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,681,363 and 3,383,411.